


Too Hung Up On The Things I Don't Have To Appreciate What I've Got

by DoctorFitzy (KittooningMalijah)



Series: webseries au [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Webseries AU, youtubers au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-29
Updated: 2016-03-29
Packaged: 2018-05-29 21:27:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6394471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittooningMalijah/pseuds/DoctorFitzy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Having a popular webseries is one thing. Having a popular webseries that started from being told by a therapist that he needed to actually talk about himself more was an entirely different ball park, and there’s only so much Grant Ward can say about himself to strangers on the internet before he needs to bring in back up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Too Hung Up On The Things I Don't Have To Appreciate What I've Got

**Author's Note:**

> All of the ships in this are platonic, and you can honestly read it any way you want to, shipping-wise. Or just read it as a giant, platonic ball of fluff.

          Somehow, even after living in the building for over a year, Grant still managed to forget how hard it was to actually get into his apartment. If he didn’t jiggle the key just right, there was no chance he’d make it inside without breaking the lock, and he could only have his neighbor fix it so many times before he’d have to talk to the landlord about getting it replaced. There was no telling how long he was standing there in the hallway, struggling just to get the door open before hearing the too-loud _click_  that meant the lock had been busted again.

          With a sigh, he turned around so that he could walk back down the hall toward the elevator, stopping in front of the last door so that he could knock on the door. Technically, he was supposed to be working on his next video -- and according to Dr. Garner, it had to be one about _himself_ , not another one in the long string about his neighbors. _Dear Me From The Past_  was a successful video blog, if _successful_ meant _viewed over 10,000 times within twelve hours when it was uploaded every week_ , and it had originally only been for himself and his therapist. The reason he had started going to his friends to  **‘** guest star **’** every week should be fairly obvious.

          Grant took a small step back when the door swung open, starting to speak and then closing his mouth again at the sight that greeted him. He knew that Leo and Jemma had their own weekly webseries, and he’d interrupted a few interesting experiments since they’d been neighbors, but this was the first time he’d seen the Scotsman less than fully clothed. The sweat on his chest was obvious with the florescent lighting of the hallway, and it was almost a miracle that Grant managed to keep his eyes from drifting lower than they already had, though with the difference in their heights, he did get a very nice view of the fact that Leo wasn’t wearing anything besides a pair of boxer shorts. All he’d wanted was to get his lock fixed so that he could actually lock his door while working on his video. It had to be a personal one, which meant the last thing he wanted or needed was someone barging in asking him questions. The last thing he expected while making such a simple request was a mostly naked scientist.

          “Is it the lock again?”

          The accented words pulled him out of his thoughts, and it took a few moments before he could manage a slow nod of his head. If living in the same building had taught him anything, it was that Leo _never_  bared more skin than was absolutely necessary, mostly because it meant his roommate would overuse the word _pasty_  for at least a few hours. “I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?”

          “Just an experiment.” Grant stepped forward again so that he could peer into the apartment and offer up a small smile in greeting to a, fully clothed, Jemma Simmons. “We’re testing if an increase in temperature has any effect on the human heartbeat. Leo is supposed to be under the heated blankets for at least another ten minutes, but because he _insisted_  on getting up to answer the door, we have to start the hour over.” A groan pulled his attention back to the Scot in question, and there was hardly a chance for him to even open his mouth before the bickering started.

          “If I’m going to get my temperature up any further than it already is, then you at least need to let me have a bottled water.”

          “Don’t be ridiculous, Leo, any amount of water or food is a variable the experiment doesn’t account for.”

          “Well, _no water or food_  leads to a variable the experiment also doesn’t account for -- dehydration and death.”

          “Oh, you’ll be _fine_. Now, stop complaining, and get back under the blankets.”

          Watching the scene unfold in front of him, Grant didn’t even try to hide the smile that was starting to pull at his lips. His friends were completely ridiculous, but this was them on a _good_  day, and the fact that things were so normal almost always made him smile. “Wait, if you’re trying to be warmer, then why aren’t you wearing any clothes?”

          He watched while Leo rolled his eyes, spewing the words as if they were the most obvious thing in the world. “Because, I’m _hot_.”

          Well, he couldn’t argue with that.

* * *

 

          Half an hour later, Grant was seated on their couch, his laptop on the coffee table while he tried to focus on what he could possibly say to any younger version of himself. If he could even think of anything to say to himself from even that morning, the entire debacle would be that much easier, and he’d be able to make his video and move on to his next issue.

          As soon as that thought crossed his mind, that next issue piped up from the pile of blankets on the next cushion over, the grumpy Scot’s words muffled from the weight on top of him. “Dear Leopold Fitz from lunch today, tell Jemma _no_.” The pile moved, then, and when he looked over, Grant’s brown eyes met blue ones directly. “Can you put that in your video?”

          “Unfortunately, you’re not me, or from the past, so no, I can’t.”

          He shook his head before leaning forward, closing his laptop with a huff. It shouldn’t be this hard, and he knew it, but going too far back would mean talking about his childhood for all the internet to see, and choosing something too superficial wouldn’t earn him any points with Dr. Garner. It had to be something just big enough to matter, but small enough that he didn’t care who heard about it.

          His attention was drawn away from his thoughts again by the start of more accented bickering, and he was almost disappointed at the inability to focus until an idea occurred to me. The videos to him from the past didn’t have to be about bad things all the time, he knew that, but most of them were about the messes he’d gotten into after juvie, if he even made them about him at all. This one, however, would be a much better message to give to his past self.

* * *

 

          The only light is shining directly on him, and it’s almost obvious that he’s relying entirely on the dim backlight of his laptop to make the video. He’s smiling, and it’s soft, and careful, like the situation can change at any moment -- and it can, based on the head of curls settled in his lap that can be seen at the bottom edge of the video.

          “ _Dear Grant Ward from one year ago,_ ” he whispers, presumably keeping his voice low to keep from waking the sleeping scientist on the couch with him. “ _You’ve just moved into your new apartment, and down the hall there’s this annoying British couple -- they’re not actually a couple, but that doesn’t make them any less annoying. Leopold Fitz is an engineer who had a PhD before you even got into the system, and he’s Scottish. If you call him Irish or even hint at it by accident, he **will**  hit you with the project he’s been working on for months. Jemma Simmons is from England, and she has two PhDs in subjects you still won’t be able to pronounce even with a full year of practice. Right now, they’re probably causing small explosions in their apartment, that’s normal, and that will happen all the time. In one year, they’ll still be annoying, and sometimes you might want to kill them, but you can’t. Leo fixes that busted lock more often than he should have to, and Jemma makes the **best**  pesto aioli. You’ll spend nights on their couch -- with at least one of them using you as a pillow -- and you’ll help with their experiments, and you’ll be used as a lab rat more times than you can count. Because in one year, you won’t hate them so much. You’ll love them, and they’ll be the best friends you’ve ever had.”_


End file.
